hepburn



- :(Nb Model.) 2' Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. L..HEPBURN. BREBGH LOADING GUN.

-N0. 502,489. Patented Aug. 1, 1893.

'8 gm} 55.11%; L mm iii;

III Inu- Jfiglwill" (No Model.)

} 2 Sheets-Sheet 2." L. L. HEPBURN. I BREEGH LOADING GUN.

Patented Aug. 1, 1893.

UNrrnn STATES PATENT Curios...

LEWIS L. HEPBURN, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE MARLIN FIREARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BREECH-LOADING GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent No. 502,489, dated August 1,1893.

Serial No. 457,115- (No model.)

.To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Lnwrs L. HEPBURN, of New Haven, in the county of NewHaven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Magazine-Firearms, of which the following is aspecification.

My improvement relates to magazine and other fire-arms and it consistsin certain improvements upon the mechanism shown in the Letters. PatentNos. 371,455 and 400,679, granted to me October 11, 18S7, and April 2,1889, substantially as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings:Figure 1 is a side elevation of a magazine fire armprovided with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a similar elevation of the samewith a portion of the side frame and stock broken away to show theconstruction of the internal parts. Fig. 3 is a similar view with thebreech block thrown back and partially sectioned to show theconstruction of the firing pin. Fig. 4 is a side view of the bottom partof the metallic frame detached from the arm. Fig. 5 is a top view of thesame in plan. Fig. 6 is a side view of my improved locking bolt for thebreech block. Fig. 7 is an end view of the same looking in the directionof the barrel. Fig. Sis a detail View of the lever locking bolt andframe.

C is the barrel of the gun.

M is the magazine.

F is the metallic frame attached to the barrel and magazine in the usualmanner. S is the stock.

B is the breech bolt, which slides longitudinally out and in on itsguideways in the frame.

L is the breech bolt lever, pivoted in the frame at, 1, andhaving itsupper end, L, working in a slot in the breech bolt in the usual manner.

E is the carrier, which lifts the cartridge from the magazine to thebarrel and is operated by the lever as described in my former patent.

The screw pivot, 2, forms an axis for the hammer to turn on and alsosecures the lower part of the frame, shown in Fig. 4, to the otherparts. The screw pivot, 3, forms an axis for the carrier, E, to swing onat its rear end.

D is the locking bolt, which secures the breech bolt in place. It looksthe breech bolt by having its upper end enter a slot 12 in the breechbolt as in my said former patents, that is to say, the locking bolt Dslides longitudinally in ways formed in the frame of the arm, and isbrought into its locking position by the lever L as hereinafterdescribed, when the breech bolt is moved up against the breech, and thelocking bolt is withdrawn from the notch by the lever before the breechbolt is moved back, but its lower end is modified to allow it to beshortened so that it shall not project below the frame of the arm whenit is drawn down, as heretofore. The member, 19, of the lever, L, hasits notch or projection, t, which engages with a recess, 4, in the boltD, reversed; that is to say, the recess, 4, is on the rear side of aprojection, d, of the locking bolt and the projection, i, on the leverprojects forward and engages with a recess on that side to draw down thelooking bolt. This construction enables me to shorten the locking boltso that it is entirely within the frame of the arm, and is much neaterand safer in construction and operation. It also enables me to insert inthe member, 11, of the lever, L, a frictional locking bolt, 5, whichengages with a notch, 6, in the frame and can be sprung out of the notchby a strong pull on the lever L, but otherwise serves to hold the leverin a locked position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and prevents its beingaccidentally thrown forward and opening the breech. This is manifestlyimpossible to arrange when the locking bolt D moves up and down on therear side of the member, 19, of the lever as in my said former patents.This bolt, 5, works in a socket in the lever, and has a spiral spring,7, behind it, which thrusts it outward. It is held in place in the leverby the pin, 8, which passes through the socket at a point where the boltis flattened on one side and prevents the bolt from being thrown out ofthe socket by the spring when the lever is swung downward as shown inFig. 3. The reason Why this new arrangementof the recess in the lockingbolt, D, and the projection, 2', on the lever, L, can be used with ashorter locking bolt than when constructed as shown in my said formerpatents is, that in the former construction the projection did not beginto swing away from the locking bolt and disengage itself from the recessin the latter until it swung below a line drawn at a right angle to thepath of motion of the locking bolt through the center of the screw axis,1, and therefore the locking bolt had to be madelong enough to cause theprojection to properly disengage itself when the locking bolt was drawndown the proper dis tance, and this necessity obliged the constructionof the locking bolt so as to project below the frame of the gun. Butwhen the projection enters the recess, 4, in the locking bolt from theopposite side of the latter, viz; the rear side, the projection beginsto swing away from the line of movement of the looking bolt above theline drawn at right angles to the latter as before described, and hencethe projection and the recess in the locking bolt may all be made so farup within the frame that the bolt will remain within the frame when itis drawn down to unlock the breech bolt.

In order to insure greater perfection in the safety device for lockingthe firing pin, 10, as soon as the breech bolt begins to be opened, Ihave devised the following construction I make the firing pin in twoparts, 10, ll, placed end to end in the breech bolt. The part, 10, isconstructed at its forward end, where the lever en'd, L, passes byit,substantially as in my said former patents, that is to say, it has aportion of its side cut away to allow the end of the lever to pass byand lock it, at the instant that the latter begins to withdraw thebreech bolt and it extends backward to the notch or recess, 12, in thebreech bolt with which the upper end of the locking bolt, D, engages tolock it. The forward end of the part, 11, of the firing pin is made tofit loosely in the longitudinal socket through the breech bolt, in whichit slides,'so as to drop down behind the shoulder formed by the forwardside of the slot, 12, when the locking bolt D is withdrawn and in thisposition, as shown in Fig. 3, a blow upon the part 11 of the firing pinwill not drive the part 10 forward to explode the cartridge, because ofthis shoulder.

In order to insure the engagement of the forward end of the part, 11,with this shoulder in all positions of the arm, as soon as the lockingbolt D begins to be withdrawn, I arrange the flat spring, 13, in thebore of the breech bolt above the part, 11, so as to press down on itsforward end and cause it to engage with the shoulder of the recess, 12,as soon as the locking boltD is withdrawn. The upper end of the lockingbolt D is formed with a semi-cylindrical recess, 14, (Fig. 7) to allowthe part 11 of the firing pin to slide therein and guide it accuratelyagainst the part 10 when the locking bolt is in place and the breech isclosed. This insures the full force of the blow of the hammer beingdelivered against the part, 10, of the firing pin to explode thecartridge when the parts are in that position. It is evident that thespring,

13, might be dispensed with if the gun were held in the upright positionshown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and the safety apparatus still do its work, butI prefer to use the spring, 13, as shown.

The difference in operation between this safety device for the firingpin and those shown in my said former patents is that this one begins tooperate with the first movement of the lever L, which draws down thelocking bolt D from underneath the part, 11, of the firing pin, whereaswith the former apparatus the lever had to move through some littledistance before the locking action of the firing pin took effect, andthis construction therefore begins to lock the firing pin against a blowof the hammer or other external means sooner than the formerconstructions, when the breech mechanism is operated.

Again, in assembling the parts of the breech mechanism after taking itapart to clean it, if the locking bolt D were accidentally left out, assometimes happens with those not expert in the use of the gun, the guncould be operated and fired with the remaining parts, especially withthe safety mechanism as constructed and shown in my Patent No. 371,455,of October 11, 1887, while with the present construction the lockingbolt D must be inserted in place before the gun can be discharged bystriking the firing pin.

What I claim as new and of my invention 1. The combination of thesliding breech bolt, B, the locking bolt, D, arranged to movesubstantially at right angles to the breech bolt and enter a recess tolock the same, provided with a recess, 4, on its rear side, and thelever, L, provided with the projection, 2', arranged to engage with saidrecess draw down the locking bolt D and disengage itself therefrom whilemoving the breech bolt backward, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the sliding breech bolt, B, the locking bolt, D,arranged to move substantially at right angles to the breech bolt andenter a recess to lock the same, provided with a recess, 4, on its rearside, the lever L provided with the projection, '6, arranged to drawdown the locking bolt D and disengage itself therefrom while moving thebreech bolt backward, and the frictional looking bolt, 5, arranged inthe lever L below the projection, t', in position to engage with thenotch, 6, in the frame substantially as described.

3. The combination of the sliding breech bolt, B, provided with alongitudinal passage through or in it for the firing pin, and with arecess or notch, 12, for the locking bolt, the locking bolt, D, arrangedto enter said recess and lock the breech bolt, the part, 10, of thefiring pin extending backward to said recess, 12, and the part of thefiring pin, 11, arranged to drop downward in said recess and bearagainst the forward side of the same when the locking bolt is withdrawn,substantially as described.

IIO

4. The combination of the sliding breech bolt, B, provided with alongitudinal passage through or in it for the firing pin, and with arecess or notch, 12, for the locking bolt, the locking bolt, D, arrangedto enter said recess and lock the breech bolt, the part 10 of the firingpin extending backward to said recess 12, the part, 11, of the firingpin arranged to drop downward in said recess and bear against theforward side of the same when 10 the locking bolt is withdrawn, and thespring, 13, arranged to press the part, 11, of the firing pin behind theshoulder of the recess substantially as described.

L. L. HEPBURN. Witnesses:

J. M. MARLIN, M. E. WARD.

